Uploaded April 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
We continue our coverage of Big Boy 4014 as it departs Portola California and heads for Elko Nevada. Leaving the Sierra Nevada Mountains behind, the next leg of the journey leads through the remote desert country of northern Nevada. Big Boy heads east over the former Western Pacific main line over Sand Pass skirting the edge of the Black Rock Desert. Our journey ends in spectacular Palisade Canyon.
We continue our coverage of Big Boy 4014 as it departs Portola California and heads for Elko Nevada. Leaving the Sierra Nevada Mountains behind, the next leg of the journey leads through the remote desert country of northern Nevada. Big Boy heads east over the former Western Pacific main line over Sand Pass skirting the edge of the Black Rock Desert. Our journey ends in spectacular Palisade Canyon.
![Union Pacifics Idaho Main Line [Part 2]](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/O3jPGJNCtMI/mqdefault.jpg "Union Pacifics Idaho Main Line [Part 2]
This is the second program in our series covering the Union Pacific main line in Idaho. Our focus is the western half of the Nampa Subdivision between Nampa and Ticeska.
Beginning at Nampa Yard, we will see the Boise Valley Railroad interchanging cars with the UP and heading over the Boise Cutoff past the classic depot in Idaho’s capital city. We then follow UP’s Oregon Short Line eastward through the Snake River Plain.
Highlights include Orchard, Mountain Home, Glenns Ferry, King Hill, and the steep 2% grade of Reverse (Medbury) Hill. We conclude with trains reaching Ticeska after climbing the 1.7% grade away from the Snake River west of Bliss.
The Nampa Subdivision sees around twenty trains per day. Mixed manifests roam the line along with unit soda ash, grain, and intermodal. Most trains have distributed power with westbound heavy unit trains using two sets of DPU’s making for a fantastic show of horsepower!
This program was shot in May and July, 2022.
Available on DVD and Blu-ray at 7ideaproductions.com. https://www.7ideaproductions.com/products/union-pacifics-idaho-main-line-part-2?_pos=3&_sid=4cbd51f55&_ss=r
0:00 Intro
2:32 Map
4:38 Nampa
10:52 Boise
13:58 East Nampa
15:37 Kuna
17:49 Owyhee
21:33 Orchard
27:17 Cleft
28:51 Mountain Home
32:17 Reverse
46:45 Reverse Hill
1:07:26 Hammett
1:11:34 The Narrows
1:15:22 Glenns Ferry
1:32:54 King Hill
1:39:44 Ticeska")
![Return of the Big Boy [Full Length Program]](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/RE9w6TPH0lA/mqdefault.jpg "Return of the Big Boy [Full Length Program]
Originally released in 2019
In May of 2019, Union Pacific made history. Big Boy 4014, the largest steam locomotive on earth took to the main line under its own power for the first time in nearly 60 years!
The restoration was just in time for the 150th anniversary of the driving of the Golden Spike at Promontory, Utah, commemorating the completion of the first transcontinental railroad in 1869.
Paired with UP 844, the only steam locomotive to never be taken out of active service on a major railroad, the 4014 made its first excursion run between Cheyenne, Wyoming and Ogden, Utah in what was billed as “The Great Race to Ogden.”
7idea Productions takes you trackside for this historic event from Cheyenne to Ogden and return. Catch the 4014 climbing Sherman Hill, gliding across the Wyoming plains, and tackling the Wasatch grade.
In Ogden, Utah, Union Pacific’s Spike 150 Celebration had the feeling of a rock concert as thousands of people came out to see the Big Boy for the first time.
We’ll take you to Promontory for a reenactment of the driving of the golden spike that united a nation east to west. With the festivities over, Big Boy number 4014 and the 844 return home to Cheyenne.
This is your front row seat to the greatest railroading event in 60 years! This is Return of the Big Boy!
Available on DVD and Blu-ray at 7ideaproductions.com. https://www.7ideaproductions.com/products/return-of-the-big-boy?_pos=1&_sid=93da19378&_ss=r
0:00 Intro
3:06 Map
5:01 Getting Ready
10:13 Cheyenne
11:59 Perkins
12:59 West of Laramie
14:08 Fort Steele
14:58 Latham
16:52 Red Desert
18:01 Table Rock
19:05 Near Point of Rocks
21:53 Thayer
23:03 Green River
28:09 Granger
31:48 Carter
33:56 Leroy
34:38 Evanston, WY
42:18 Wahsatch, UT
43:17 Echo Canyon
45:10 Ogden
47:02 Promontory Golden Spike Reenactment
49:35 Morning at Ogden
50:05 Dry Hollow
51:12 Castle Rock
53:16 Evanston, WY
1:01:55 Elkhurst
1:03:24 Peru Hill
1:06:19 Kanda
1:07:45 Rock Springs
1:09:42 Salt Wells
1:10:49 Bitter Creek
1:11:47 Creston
1:12:33 Rawlins
1:13:34 How to Re-Rail a Big Boy
1:17:05 Sinclair
1:18:09 Rock River
1:19:39 Laramie
1:20:19 Tie Siding
1:22:07 Hermosa Tunnels
1:23:58 Back to Cheyenne")
![Marias Pass [BNSF in Montanas Magnificent Rockies]](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/Rzli7pm-s24/mqdefault.jpg "Marias Pass [BNSF in Montanas Magnificent Rockies]
Originally released on DVD in 2009, take a tour of BNSFs very scenic Hi-Line Subdivision through the Rocky Mountains of Northwestern Montana. The railroad skirts the southern boundary of Glacier National Park, twisting along the Flathead River and climbing through tunnels and snow sheds. Shot in mid-October, the season transforms from fall to winter.
This program is also available on DVD and Blu-ray by visiting 7ideaproductions.com
https://www.7ideaproductions.com/products/marias-pass?_pos=2&_sid=dc310c17d&_ss=r
0:00 Intro
3:06 Map
4:05 Whitefish
11:11 Columbia Falls
14:11 Bad Rock Canyon
16:00 Coram
18:10 Johnstons Curve
20:42 Belton
22:02 Tunnel 4
26:42 Tunnel 3.8
28:27 Nyack
32:35 Red Eagle
35:17 Stanton Creek
37:57 Paola
38:18 Essex
45:15 Sheep Creek Trestle
47:24 Java East
52:46 Show Shed 10.5
59:26 The Burned Shed
1:05:10 Marias
1:13:08 Continental Divide
1:15:03 Summit East
1:16:56 False Summit
1:17:29 Bison West
1:24:15 East Glacier
1:25:58 Two Medicine Bridge
1:26:37 Grizzly
1:31:52 Spotted Robe
1:34:08 Browning
1:37:00 Blackfoot
1:38:22 SP Daylight 4449 in Montana and Idaho")
![Rails Through the Freezer 2 [Where Trains Battle Winter]](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/SrLro8os_YE/mqdefault.jpg "Rails Through the Freezer 2 [Where Trains Battle Winter]
This is a compilation of some of my favorite winter scenes from the past fifteen years of shooting train videos in the western US and Canada.
Featured videos include:
Canadas Yellowhead Pass
https://youtu.be/cqgcJJ-UQNQ?si=eQrn-ZNaDrsCek2-
The Wasatch Grade
https://youtu.be/HXYJrIGjcE4?si=iFjTHLMoSQbQRWTm
The Blue Mountains
https://youtu.be/4qsOmeIevhU?si=a8t_nY2H0qYgk4sY
BNSFs Arizona Main Line Part 2
https://youtu.be/Jd6cO1eIKXk?si=BM9WrmibfrrArM6G
Steam and Snow: Rotary OY over Cumbres Pass
https://youtu.be/Uotv4QMNmgs?si=Ahu-vG_eDrckSo72
Winter on Marias Pass
https://youtu.be/T6qCJAOCi3g?si=VXfuuYYCAZJFVn03
Winter on Donner
https://youtu.be/eLmBIZaFpSU?si=xBEVOqtcKPoBDlsr
0:00 Intro
2:27 Winter in Western Alberta, CA
8:49 SD40-2s Climb through Castle Rock, UT
11:30 Winter in the Blue Mountains, OR
21:20 BNSF Battles an Arizona Snow Storm
31:35 Rotary OY on Cumbres Pass, CO
40:45 Winter on Marias Pass, MT
55:33 Snow Trains on Donner Pass, CA")
